Asian Pacific American Chamber of Commerce

May 2011 – October 2012

APACC Welcomes 5-hour Energy Founder and CEO Manoj Bhargava

APACC Corporate Sponsors, Board Directors with Manoj Bhargava (center)

“East – West: The Sun Never Sets” was the theme of APACC’s 11th Annual Dinner Gala at the Royal Park Hotel in Rochester on May 19, 2012. We were privileged to have our featured speaker, Manoj Bhargava, Founder and CEO of the 5-hour Energy, a two-ounce energy shot, who shared his strategies and personal views of his success. Avoiding useless meetings, internal reports and other corporate-oriented decisions that can slow things down, “I just tried to make things as simple as I could,” stated Bhargava to our audience of 500. According to Forbes Magazine in 2012, Bhargava may be the wealthiest Asian Indian. His business start-ups include Living Essentials (maker of 5-hour Energy), Senterra Water, ETC Capital, Stage 2 Innovations, Microdose Life Sciences, and US Rail. “We are honored to have Manoj as our keynote speaker. He epitomizes the entrepreneurial spirit, which inspires us all to achieve our vision and goals,” said Ron Shahani, APACC’s Chairman of the Board. To see a video clip of Manoj Bhargava’s keynote address at our dinner gala, visit www.apacc.net/videos. Other highlights of the evening included the announcement of Chrysler Group, LLC as our 2012 Corporation of the Year recipient and Ms. Gayla Houser of Miller Canfield, as our Advocate of the Year recipient.

Udesh Kaul-Delphi, Ron Shahani-APACC Chair, Manoj Bhargava- Keynote Speaker, and John Taylor-Delphi

Manoj Bhargava, Keynote Speaker

APACC Advocate of the Year, Gayla Houser with her husband, Lee Ricelli

Table of Contents Ron Shahani, APACC Chairman

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Mission, Corporate Sponsors and Board Directors 2

Chrysler Group LLC, Corporation of the Year L-R: Kevin Bell, Lottie Robertson, Suzanne Bobbitt and Sig Huber

APACC Salute to Excellence Award Dinner

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APACC East-West Business Connections

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Great Starts to Great Business Opportunities

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Ford Leadership Shares Global Vision

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APACC Tenth Annual Dinner Celebration

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Message from Executive Director

Back cover

A Message From Our Chairman APACC’s 2012-2013 chair is Mr. Ravinder (Ron) Shahani, President and CEO of Acro Service Corp. with headquarters in Livonia. Founded in 1982, the company now has more than 20 offices in the United States as well as in England and India. Acro provides staff augmentation, outsourcing and consulting services in information technology, engineering and design, and professional and office administration. Mr. Shahani is the recipient of numerous business awards and honors. What is your vision for APACC this program year? APACC up until now was managed essentially by the founders, so I have inherited some big shoes to fill here, and I’m grateful for the opportunity. My predecessors have done a great job of getting the organization to where it is today. We are a highly respected organization for promoting the advancement of Asians in the U.S. and Asia. My job is to institutionalize it. My goal going forward is to make APACC the “go-to” organization for any of our businesses or sponsors looking to do anything with Asia or Asian businesses. My view is that we become a one-stop shop within the Asian business community. What are some of your major goals as chairman? One goal is to continue to grow the organization, continue to grow the membership. We want to build our reserves from a financial standpoint so that we can expand into other geographies within Michigan and outside of Michigan, particularly in regions that are strong in the automotive industry – in states like Indiana, Ohio, Illinois. We are seeing an increasing number of members from surrounding states. But before we do that, we want to build enough reserves. We want to focus very heavily on fund-raising so we can draw in an excess of funds beyond expenses to put aside for expansion purposes. Our other goal is of course to diversify the industries we are serving. We are very strong in the automotive industry, but we have to make a concerted effort to diversify our sponsors and the membership we serve to include not only the auto industry but other industries as well.

Our Mission

To facilitate business relationships among Asian and U.S. based companies and to promote the economic advancement of Asian Pacific Americans Thank you to our 2012 Sponsors Opal Sponsors: Aisin World Corporation of America Beaumont Health System Diamond Sponsors: Chase Chrysler Group, LLC DMC – Huron Valley-Sinai Hospital Comerica Bank Dykema Gossett PLLC Ford Motor Company Ebinger Manufacturing Company General Motors Company, LLC Henry Ford Health System Honda of America Manufacturing Plante & Moran Kroger Company Toyoda Gosei North America Corporation Saturn Electronics & Engineering, Inc. Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing, UHY, LLP Walsh College North America., Inc. Weld-Aid Products, Inc. WL Services Jade Sponsors: Acro Service Corporation APACC Officers: Chrysan Industries, Inc. Ron Shahani, Chairman Delphi Corporation Grace Lee, President / Vice Chair Delta Air Lines Stephanie Beau, Vice Chair DENSO International America, Inc. Amal Berry-Brown, Vice Chair Dow Automotive Systems Jimmy Hsiao, Vice Chair Faurecia Udesh Kaul, Vice Chair Logic Solutions, Inc. Peter Schreck, Secretary PNC Bank Wayne Chuang, Treasurer Roy Smith Company Wally Tsuha, Chair Emeritus Visteon Corporation Peter Wong, Chair Emeritus Signature Sponsor: DTE Energy

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APACC Board Directors: Bing Goei, Jamie Hsu, Ph.D., R. J. King, Suk-Kyu Koh, Rona Lum, Victor Naidu, Anup Popat, Ryan Rosario, and Brenda Schneider APACC Staff: Denise Yee Grim – Executive Director Sarah Lalone – Office Manager Editors & Writers: Chris Mead & Denise Yee Grim Photographs donated by: Nick Martines, Denise Yee Grim, and Sarah Lalone

Published by APACC – Asian Pacific American Chamber of Commerce 3155 West Big Beaver Road, Suite 106A, Troy, MI 48084 (248) 430-5855, www.apacc.net

Asian Business Professionals and Companies Honored at Awards Dinner With its strong track record for supplier diversity, DTE Energy offers Asian-owned businesses a great opportunity to grow their markets, Tony Tomczak, the company’s Director of Supply Chain Management, told attendees at APACC’s “Salute to Excellence” Award Dinner.

Event co-chairs: Stephanie Beau and Brenda Schneider with Tony Tomczak of DTE Energy, keynote speaker

Using the theme “Know Your Own Power,” Tomczak urged APACC members to familiarize themselves with the company and its pre-qualification requirements in order to get on its RFP (Request for Proposal) list. DTE Energy is particularly interested in companies with a good safety record and no legal issues, he added.

L-R: Andrew Humphrey, Stephanie Beau, Chris Feng and Brenda Schneider

Awards were presented following Tomczak’s keynote address. In the category of Asian Business Professionals, the honorees were: −Ananias Diokno, M.D., Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, Beaumont Health System. −Linglong He, Chief Information Officer, Quicken Loans. −Raj Nair, Group Vice President, Global Products Development, Ford Motor Co. “As the largest investor of capital in the state −Dominic Pangborn, President & CEO, Pangborn Design. of Michigan, DTE Energy is committed to a diversified supply base,” Tomczak said, not- −Shihjian (Walter) Zhou, Ph.D., President, Institute of Higher Education and ing that the company purchases $200 million Collaboration. in goods and services annually from womenowned and minority-owned businesses. “I’m very proud to be a part of the Asian For the third year in a row, the Detroit-based community. I’m proud of what APACC company was named Corporation of the Year has done for our community,” Linglong He said in accepting her award. She noted that in 2012 by the Michigan Minority Supplier Diversity Council for its work in creating op- Quicken Loans has more than 900 employees from 217 different countries. portunities for minority-owned businesses, he said. A sold-out crowd of 200 attended the Oct. 11, 2012, event at The Henry in Dearborn to pay tribute to five Asian business professionals and five Asian-owned companies for achieving notable success and outstanding accomplishments in their respective fields of industry. The title sponsor was DTE Energy, event sponsors included: Mercedes-Benz Financial Services and Miller Canfield and Corp! Magazine was the media sponsor.

“I love what I do every day,” she said. “If you do your best, opportunity will follow you.” n the category of Asian-owned Companies, the honorees were: −Amerilodge Group, Asad Malik, President & CEO. −ApoLife Inc., Nalini Ghag-Motwani, Ph.D., President & Founding CSO. −Bangkok 96 Restaurant & Thai Feast LLC, Genevieve Vang, President & Executive Chef. −Ebinger Manufacturing Co., Janny Lu, President & CEO. −Fuyao Automotive North America Inc., Chris Feng, President. Asad Malik of Amerilodge noted that the company, which was launched five years ago and now has 11 hotels, is the fastest-growing hospitality company in Michigan and one of the fastest-growing in the United States. “We plan to grow rapidly,” he said, noting that the company plans to spend $100 million in Michigan over the next three years. “We do a lot of business in Asia. Most of our supplies come from China.” Chris Feng noted that Fuyao’s parent company is the No. 1 glass supplier in China with 65 percent market share. In 2008, the company opened an affiliate in the Detroit area which has survived and prospered despite the tough economy. “We hired 100 percent talent,” he said. “Our success is not only in China, our success is also in Michigan. This past spring, we became the only glass supplier in the world to receive a Supplier of the Year Award.”

L–R: Andrew Humphrey – emcee, Denise Yee Grim, Stephanie Beau, Charles Perkins, Asad Malik, Carla Preston representing Raj Nair, Tony Tomczak, Walter Zhou, Caroline Polly representing Genevieve Vang, Nalini Ghag-Motwani, Ph.D., Linglong He, Jason Tsai representing Janny Lu, Chris Feng and Brenda Schneider

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Business Opportunities Abound in Asia Pacific Region Accounting for more than half of the world’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 45 percent all global trade, the Asia Pacific region holds unparalleled opportunities for businesses of all sizes as the United States seeks to double its exports by the end of 2012.

−The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is moving rapidly forward on free trade agreements, and Allen said “we are on the cusp of a major breakthrough” that will have a significant impact on the United States and 10 other countries associated with TPP.

That was the message from Craig Allen, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Asia in the U.S. Department of Commerce, at APACC’s East-West Business Connections event on March 22, 2012 at the Diamond Center at the Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi.

−The Korea-United States Free Trade Agreement, which was ratified by the two nations at the end of 2011, will eliminate 95 percent of each nation’s tariffs in 10 years. Allen said this agreement will yield an estimated 70,000 new jobs in the United States.

Allen said the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) gathering hosted by the United States in Honolulu in November 2011 represents a major turning point as the 21 member nations continue to streamline their regulatory processes, promote “green” growth, and reduce tariffs to 5 percent or lift them altogether on various good and services by 2015.

Traveling through the Asia Pacific region country by country, Allen said some of the best opportunities can be found in South Korea (especially for service companies), Singapore, Indonesia, Taiwan, and even Vietnam, describing the latter as one of the best market potential countries in the world.

Craig Allen, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Asia U.S. Dept. of Commerce – International Trade Administration

“The freer the borders of these countries, the better for Michigan businesses,” he said. Allen has extensive experience in Asia, particularly Taiwan, China, and Japan, having lived in the region for 27 years. He cited a number of significant business developments and trends in the region, including: −The 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN) are in the process of forming a free trade agreement by 2015. With Singapore as the hub, these nations represent the fastest-growing economies in the world, and the United States is working with ASEAN to ensure that U.S. exporters are a player in this dynamic market.

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China and India – the world’s two fastestgrowing economies – both offer opportunities mixed with challenges. While China’s economic transformation is unprecedented in human history, it also has many trade problems and barriers that require an “eyes wide open” approach. In India, domestic demand is on the rise for U.S. products and services, but the country has a “complex business environment,” Allen noted.

numbers for Michigan’s automotive industry. In general, he said, people are now feeling less pessimistic about the economy even if they are not completely optimistic yet.

Robert A. Dye, Ph.D., Comerica Bank Senior Vice President & Chief Economist

While the recovery remains incomplete, Dye said there are a number of signs that the United States is working its way out of the recession that hit in 2007-08, including an upswing in job creation, a dip in the unemployment rate, and improving consumer and small business confidence.

But there are danger signs as well, espeJapan, now the world’s third largest economy cially in Europe as it muddles through its economic crisis. In Asia, Japan is reboundafter China and the United States, may join ing after last year’s earthquake disaster, the Trans-Pacific Partnership. but it remains to see if the rebound will If so, Allen said, it will be “a tremendous op- continue at a robust rate, Dye said. China, meanwhile, is taking steps to cool off its portunity for Michigan companies.” growth. The East-West Business Connection event also featured a panel discussion on “Practical Experience of Asian Michigan Business Here on the home front, Jeanne D. Broad, the Michigan Economic Development Expansion” with Rupesh K. Srivastava, Corporation’s International Trade DevelopPresident & CEO of Youngsoft Inc., Debment Manager for Southeast Michigan, said bie Rough, Consultant of Organizational the state is stepping up its export profile in Change Strategies and Human Resources Asia. Gov. Rick Snyder participated in a at DR Consulting, and Jimmy Hsiao, CEO trade mission to Asia in 2011 and is returnof Logic Solutions Inc. Each gave insights into their experiences in India, South Korea, ing to the region in September, she said. and China, respectively. All three stressed The event concluded with a “Meet the the importance of building relationships, Buyers” business-to-business procurement understanding local cultures, and gauging showcase with more than 40 corporate buythe “market mentality” of the host country. They also discussed the mistakes and pitfalls ers and networking session featuring guest speaker Jim Holloway, General Manager for small businesses to avoid. of Supplier Relations & Systems at Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing N.A. Robert A. Dye, Senior Vice President and Inc. Chief Economist at Comerica Bank, provided attendees with a generally favorable economic outlook, including healthy

Jim Holloway, General Manager of Supplier Relations & Systems, Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.

Meet the Buyers Session with Toyoda Gosei North America Corp.

Practical Experience of Asian-Michigan Business Expansions Panel Discussion With Jimmy Hsiao, Debbie Rough and Rupesh Srivastava

First-time attendee David A. Bishop, a locally based Business Development Manager for Anchor Manufacturing Group in Cleveland, said he was particularly impressed by the unique opportunity to meet with toplevel corporate buyers. “We usually don’t get a chance like this,” he said. “It would normally take a while to get in to see these people. Sitting down in an open forum like this is definitely an advantage for our company,” he said. Comerica Bank was the title sponsor of “Capitalizing Your Business Opportunities in Michigan and Asia.” Events sponsors included the Detroit Regional Chamber, Michigan Economic Development Corporation, Miller Canfield, and the Malaysian Investment Development Authority & Malaysian Companies.

L-R: Jimmy Hsiao, Jeanne Broad, Craig Allen, Jennifer Klugh as event emcee, Jamie Hsu Ph.D, Peng-Li Liu, Rupesh Srivastava, Debbie Rough, Jimmy Holloway, Grace Lee, and Denise Yee Grim

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Ford Leadership Shares Facts of Their Global Vision Ford Motor Company and APACC hosted a Leadership Excellence Networking Reception at Ford Motor Company’s Product Development Center on Thursday, July 26, 2012 for APACC members.

Attendees had the opportunity to network with tier one suppliers, Ford Executives, view Ford’s new vehicles and learn about Ford Motor Company’s forecast for product development and plans for expansion to Asia, Speakers included Raj Nair, Group Vice President of Global Product Development, Jeff Wellman, Executive Director of NonProduction Purchasing and Dr. Jenny Lin, Chief Economist of Ford Motor Company.

L-R: Carla Preston of Ford Motor Company, Grace Lee APACC Vice-Chair and President, Ron Shahani - APACC Chairman, Jeff Wellman of Ford Motor Company, Raj Nair of Ford Motor Company, Suk-Kyu Koh - APACC Board Director, Jenny Lin of Ford Motor Company, and Jimmy Hsiao - APACC Board Director

Denise Yee Grim, Raj Nair and Victor Naidu

Jeff Wellman, Jenny Lin and Raj Nair

Great Start to Great Business Opportunities! Over 120 guests participated in our networking event hosted by Kellogg Company at their Battle Creek Headquarters on June 7, 2012. The afternoon began with an overview of Kellogg Company and Doing Business with Kellogg Company by Brian Bancroft, Senior Director of Indirect Procurement, followed by a panel discussion with Kellogg Procurement Managers, Ms. Nicole McCarthy Ms. Emily Miller and Mr. Jim Walsh and moderated by Ms. Stacey Green. George Mui of the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) gave an overview of MBDA global business resources to support MBEs and Bing Goei of Eastern Floral moderated a second panel discussion of MBE Business Expansions and Q&A Session with a panel of APACC board leaders, Jimmy Hsiao of Logic Solutions, Suk-Kyu Koh of Chrysan Industries, Inc. and Victor Naidu of Ramsoft Systems.

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To wrap-up the afternoon, attendees and Kellogg’s procurement managers came together in a networking reception and Meet the Buyers B2B sessions.

L-R: Bing Goei, Rona Lum, Cathy Kutch, Brian Bancroft, Ron Shahani, Jimmy Hsiao and George Mui

Panel discussion with Kellogg Procurement Managers: Nicole McCarthy, Emily Miller, Jim Walsh and moderated by Stacey Green

Debra Quade of Kellogg Co. and Genevieve Vang of Thai Asian American Business Leaders’ Panel: Bing Feast Goei - moderator, Jimmy Hsiao, Suk-Kyu Koh, and Victor Naidu

APACC Tenth Annual Dinner Celebration A Decade of Distinction APACC’s Tenth Annual Dinner Celebration was a soldout black-tie gala at the Royal Park Hotel in Rochester, MI on May 21, 2011. The theme of the gala was “The Decade of Distinction” celebrating APACC’s accomplishments of growth, partnership, and collaboration with the support of corporate sponsors and partner organizations.

Comerica Bank, APACC Corporation of the Year Peter Wong & Amal Berry Brown

The highlights of the evening included: a presentation by State Senator Hoon-Yung Hopgood of a tribute from Michigan Governor Rick Snyder recognizing APACC’s ten years of services to the Michigan’s Asian Pacific American business communities. Dr. Frank McGeorge, Medical Reporter for WDIV- TV and senior staff physician at the Henry Ford Hospital, Emergency Medicine, in Detroit, MI was the keynote speaker and Comerica Bank was the recipient of APACC’s 2011 Corporation of the Year Award.

Peter Schreck, Dr. Frank McGeorge, Peng-Li Liu, Mrs. Naoko Matsuda & Consul General of Japan Kuninori Matsuda

Peter Wong receiving Tribute from Senator Hoon-Yung Hopgood

Upasana & Shobhit Sharma, Linda Ware, James Smith of GM

APACC Corp Sponsors, Board Members, Public Officials with Keynote Speaker, Dr. Frank McGeorge (center)

Wayne Cty Executive Robert Ficano, Oakland Cty Executive L. Brooks Patterson, US Senator Carl Levin

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Message from Denise Yee Grim APACC Executive Director During my seven years as the Executive Director of APACC, I was always amazed and blessed by the creativity and generosity of our members and corporate sponsors in developing programming to support APACC’s mission. I have partnered with corporate diversity leaders and government agencies in creating events exclusively to our members— Yes, APACC membership has it privileges---that provided them the opportunities to build business relationships, and also received knowledge of business trends and services that are available to expand their business locally and globally. I encourage you if you are not a member of APACC to join us, for we are one of the best networking Chambers in Michigan! Also, visit our Web site, www.apacc.net, and join us on Facebook or LinkedIn to receive up-to-date information about our activities. In this issue, you will learn how we achieved our goals by providing quality events and programs. We owe our success to our talented and committed members, our dedicated and professional staff and especially to our board members for sharing their time and expertise. Thank you for making my job a joy and thank you for making APACC a part of your network.

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nearly$826millionspentwith DTE Energy pledged to do $750 million in incremental business Michigansupplierslastyear. with Michigan-based suppliers over five years as part of the Pure Michigan Business Connect Initiative. We are excited to announce DTE Energy pledged to do $750 million in incremental business we arewith on Michigan-based track to achieve this goal within three years. Since suppliers over five years as part of the Pure 2010, Michigan the company hasConnect done more than We $1.4 billion in to supply chain Business Initiative. are excited announce business, which has helped add thousands of jobs right here in we are on track to achieve this goal within three years. Since Michigan. numbers only more tell half story. most 2010,But the the company has done thanthe $1.4 billionWhat’s in supply chain business, which has helped add thousands ofand jobsaright here in of important is helping strengthen our economy broad array Michigan. But the numbers only tell half the story. What’s most Michigan-based companies, including many minority- and womenis helping our economy and a broad array of ownedimportant businesses. Now, strengthen that’s progress. Michigan-based companies, including many minority- and womenowned businesses. Now, that’s progress.

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